The Dodgers will try to take a two games to none lead when they face the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series Saturday evening at Dodger Stadium.
Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the Yankees in Game 1 Friday, the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history in the 696th World Series game.
It was the second two-out walk-off home run while trailing in World Series history, joining Kirk Gibson’s two-run home run for the Dodgers in a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, according to Major League Baseball researcher Sarah Langs.
Freeman hit the first pitch he saw from Nestor Cortes 423 feet over the right field fence for
Cortes was making his first appearance Sept. 18 after suffering a left elbow flexor strain.
Cortes relieved Jake Cousins (0-1) after Tommy Edman’s infield single gave the Dodgers runners on first and second with one out.
Shohei Ohtani, the first batter to face Cortes, fouled out to left fielder Alex Verdugo, whose momentum carried him over the short fence and into the stands. Because he left the field of play, Chris Taylor, a pinch-runner for Gavin Lux, who walked, advanced to third and Edman to second.
Mookie Betts was intentionally walked to load the bases.
The Dodgers were hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position before Freeman’s home run.
New York had taken the lead in the top of the 10th. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled with one out, stole second and third and scored when Alex Volpe grounded into a force out.
The Dodgers tied the score in the eighth. Ohtani doubled with one out, advanced to third when second baseman Gleyber Torres was charged with an error when right fielder Juan Soto’s throw went off his glove and scored on Betts’ sacrifice fly.
The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning when former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame standout Giancarlo Stanton hit Jack Flaherty’s 1-2, one-out knuckle curve 412 feet over the left field fence for a two-run home run, driving in Soto, who singled leading off the inning.
The Dodgers opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth. Kiké Hernandez tripled with one out and scored on Will Smith’s sacrifice fly before a crowd announced at 52,394.
Blake Treinen (1-0), the last of six Dodger pitchers, was credited with the victory, allowing one run and one hit in 1 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one.
The Game 1 winner has gone on to win the World Series in 75 of the previous 119 Series, 63%.
Before pregame ceremonies began, a special tribute video for Fernando Valenzuela was played on the DodgerVision video boards. A mariachi performance featuring Julian Torres y Deyra Barrera was held in the Left Field Pavilion to honor Valenzuela, who died Tuesday night at the age of 63.
Valenzuela’s No. 34 was stenciled onto the mound. A No. 34 patch will be worn on all Dodger jerseys for the duration of the 2024 World Series in honor of Valenzuela. A printed commemorative mural adorns the left field wall of Dodger Stadium, adjacent to the left field stadium entrance gates.
A moment of silence was observed prior to the game.
This is the record 12th time the Dodgers have faced the Yankees in the World Series and first since 1981. The Yankees have won eight times and the Dodgers three.
The Dodgers are playing in the World Series for the 22nd time, 13th since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn following the 1957 season and first since 2020 when they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their seventh World Series championship and first since 1988.
The Yankees are making their record 41st World Series appearance and first since 2009. They have won a record 27 World Series championships, most recently in 2009.
This was the first World Series game at Dodger Stadium since Oct. 28, 2018, when the Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox, 5-1, as the Red Sox won the Series, four games to one.
The entire 2020 World Series was played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas because of the coronavirus pandemic.